Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thrilled Gilberto calls for cool heads

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Panathinaikos FC midfielder Gilberto was delighted with the surprise away defeat of FC Internazionale Milano on Wednesday night which kept the Greek club's European ambitions alive, lifting them into second place in Group B and within sight of the knockout rounds. "It's up to us now," said the Brazilian. "We just need to keep our heads."

Gutsy display
Henk ten Cate's men were without an away win in the UEFA Champions League for almost five years before overcoming Werder Bremen earlier this month, and resumed winning ways on foreign fields at the next attempt by claiming the scalp of group leaders Inter thanks to José Sarriegi's solitary strike. The visitors were under pressure for long spells but only really looked in danger of conceding a goal in the final few frantic minutes when the Nerazzurri, who qualified despite the 1-0 reverse, pushed forward in numbers.

'Massive win'
"It's a massive win for us," said Gilberto, a finalist with Arsenal FC in 2006. "It's always hard to play against Inter, especially here at the San Siro, but we did well in defensive areas and we scored from a corner to get the result. We did really well to defend so well because Inter have so many talented individuals and they are also very strong as a team but we did a very difficult job in the proper way."

'Up to us'
Remarkable as their achievement was, Panathinaikos were three minutes away from being eliminated until Hugo Almeida scored for Werder Bremen at Anorthosis Famagusta FC to secure a 2-2 draw. Gilberto, though, had been unaware of Bremen's comeback from a two-goal deficit in Cyprus, which breathed life into his side's ambitions of reaching the last 16. "I didn't know what was going on in the other match," he told uefa.com. "I only realised the score at the final whistle, but things have worked out really well for us with our win and the result in the other game. Now it just depends on what we do in our next game. It's up to us now. We just need to keep our heads.

'Winning mentality'
"The Anorthosis match will be like a final because we will both be fighting to qualify for the next stage, but I'm sure we'll finish the job at home. We'll have to play intelligently because they have also got quality and we must make sure we keep our winning mentality. After two wins we are very confident, but we need to keep our wits. Against Inter we showed that we have enough quality to reach the next round, and now we must keep things simple and keep doing our jobs. If we play like we did tonight I'm sure we'll go through."

'Memorable night'
Giorgos Karagounis also reveled in the win against the side he left three years ago, and whose supporters applauded him off when he was substituted in the second half. "It was a memorable night, that's for sure," said the midfielder. "If the crowd here clap you off after all the great champions they've seen play here, it's wonderful for me. I don't think it was an unjust victory, it was fully deserved. We played without fear and achieved a great feat – it means so much to us."

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